My parrolets

Question
Hello!  I've two parrolets, male and female. The have begun to loose feathers.  The female has lost most of the feathers in her chest area and the male has just begun with this issue around the back of his neck.  I'm concerned because it is the start of winter and the days will get chilly. I'm not sure if it is molting season for them or if this is a sign of something worse.  What am I looking at with these changes?  There stool seems normal, runny at times. The female has become very aggresive in her behavior towards us (mainly when we clean out the cage or put our hands in to move around some of their toys) I clean the cage often.  I did have a type of palm tree beneath the cage and moved it incase it was toxic to them.  There is no discharge from their eyes or their noses. Can you pls help us figure out what is going on with them?

Viv


Answer
the molting pattern that you are describing does not sound normal at all and i would take them to the vet ASAP.  when birds molt, you will notice feathers on the cage floor and perhaps a "scruffier" looking bird but you should not be seeing complete bald patches anywhere at all.  
my first inclination is that they are fighting and picking on each other. this can occur often when birds are paired, especially ones that weren't raised together. sometimes they fight over territory or because one of the others is sick. this is their instinct to "weed" weaker birds out of the flock. either way, the only solution in this case would be to separate them. females can become very aggressive, toward one another and toward humans, during their mating season as well.  this is also due to territoriality.  if you have observed them fighting, separate them at once as fighting birds can not only cause harm to one another but they can also be physically injured or killed.
the missing feathers could also be indicative that they feather-picking (see www.featherpicking.com for more info on this condition) or could be suffering from an underlying illness.  although feather picking is usually seen in solitary birds, i have heard of some paired birds feather picking as a result of frustration and sexual frustration.
a final possibility could be a dietary deficiency. if you are supplementing their diets with vitamins and they are eating at least some of their food, they should be getting adequate nutrition to support her through a molt. hopefully you have a parrotlet book handy to talk about dietary requirements or you can always do a search online.
in general however, a molt should not result in the bird losing enough feathers to where they have bald spots.  please make an appointment and take them to a vet, preferably an avian vet, as soon as possible. if they continue to lose feathers, there is a good possibility that the longer you wait, the less likely it is that they will regain the feathers. i learned this the hard way with my canary.
only a vet can determine the cause of her feather loss as sometimes birds can have bacterial/viral diseases or behavioral problems leading to feather plucking. like i said, please take them to the vet ASAP. also, try and keep them as warm as possible so the bald patches do not lead to a secondary illness. good luck and let me know how it goes!  alicia